Six nights with a private driver-guide: a night in Kigali, two in Akagera National Park for a savannah safari, then three in the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes with two mountain gorilla treks.
Open any day for the detail. Everything here can move: add a night, swap a hotel, change the order.
Your guide meets you at the airport. After lunch, a quiet visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which gives the rest of the trip its context, then a first evening in the city.
Drive east to Akagera, Rwanda's savannah park, where lions and rhinos have been reintroduced. Game drives through the grassland, and a boat trip on Lake Ihema for hippos, crocodiles and fish eagles.
A long but scenic drive back across the country to the north-west, climbing through terraced hills to the edge of Volcanoes National Park. The lodge looks up at the volcano slopes.
Each morning starts at the park headquarters in Kinigi, where rangers assign groups. The walk to the gorillas can take an hour or most of the morning, and time with the family is limited to one hour. Hire a porter: it helps on steep, muddy ground and supports local families.
Drive back to Kigali for the flight home to London Heathrow, connecting once on the way.
Add a fourth night near the park for a golden monkey trek on the bamboo slopes of the same volcanoes.
Add two nights in Nyungwe Forest in the south-west for chimpanzee tracking and the canopy walkway.
Rwanda pairs well with the Maasai Mara, one short flight away via Nairobi, if you want more classic savannah game viewing.
Planned for June to September and December to February, when Rwanda is at its best. Outside those months it still works, with different trade-offs; ask us.
When to go to RwandaTell us your dates and who is travelling, and your specialist will send a tailored version of this route.
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